Dental floss holder



M. DE MAR DENTAL FLOSS HOLDER Filed June 25, 1953 IN V EA TOR.

United States Patent DENTAL FLOSS HOLDER MichaelDe Mar, New York, N. Y.

Application June 25, 1953, Serial No. 363,968

1 Claim. (Cl. 132-91) This invention is an improved holder for dental floss to be operated by hand and used for removing particles between the teeth. It includes a piece of string which is held taut in the holder between the ends and can easily be drawn between the teeth to removebits of food or other substances.

Heretofore great difliculty has been encountered in attempts to secure pieces of dental floss to a holder by methods that will satisfy the requirements and conditions of quantity production. Such holders are small and must be produced in great numbers for use and distribution on a commercial scale at low cost. Hence the holder should be plain and simple in construction; but most prior articles of this sort have had special loops or bends for the attachment of the floss, or notches in the ends to receive the floss, which is then tied with knots to keep it in place. Additional expense is thus entailed, and the floss is often retained more or less loosely in the notches and can easily be pulled out.

The chief object of this invention is to provide a novel holder for dental floss such that the floss can be tightly joined to the holder, without necessitating special features of design to engage the floss; and a method of economically producing the desired result.

The nature and advantages of the invention are fully described herein; and a preferred embodiment is described and illustrated in the drawings. The characteristics are defined in the claim. Variations in detail may of course be adapted without deviation from the principle of the device.

On the drawings:

Figure l is a side perspective view of a holder for dental floss according to this invention; and

Figure 2 is an end view of part of the'holder on an enlarged scale;

Figures 3 and 4 are sectional views of the same part showing successive steps in the operation of affixing the floss in the holder; and

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 2, showing a modification of the holder.

The numeral 1 in Figure 1 indicates a short bow-shaped rod with transverse end portions 2 between the extremities of which is stretched taut a piece or string of dental floss, 3. This string may be laid in notches 4 on the extremities of the portions 2 and has lumps or enlargements 5 at its ends on the outer sides of the portions 2. The lumps are formed by the action of heat on the floss 3 2,7fl2,555 Patented Feb. 22, 1955 that is stretched and held straight, between the parts 2. The device is held in the hand so as to force the string between the teeth. it is then drawn lengthwise to pull or push out particles in the spaces between the teeth, and in this invention the floss is retained securely in the holder by a novel method of attaching the floss in place.

The holder 1 has no other parts except those mentioned above, and the notches i may have parallel sides or contract inward, or be otherwise shaped. To compress the end portions 2 so as to grip the floss 3 in the notches has been found impracticable, because dental floss is made of a body of fibres or other material and is always coated or impregnated with wax 6 to give it a smooth surface so that it can be inserted readily into place and prevent cutting or scratching of the users gums when it is moved between the teeth. Hence there is not enough friction between the sides of the notches and the floss to prevent displacement by a light pull, even if the floss is knotted and ghe sides of the notches are squeezed to compress the oss.

I have found that if a flame 7 or a hot wire is brought into contact with the extremities of the floss 3, the wax 6 will melt at such points and become soft enough to fill the notches 4. An incandescent wire, with a current flowing through it, can also be utilized, and if the extremities of the floss 3 are ignited by a flame or touched with an incandescent wire at points outside the portions 2, the wax 6 melts, fills the notches 4 more completely and develops the lumps 5. The flame at the ends of the floss dies out quickly and as the heat is radiated and the end portions 2 cool, the floss tends to become more taut between the end portions 2, and is united to the holder so tightly that it cannot be detached by anything short of a vigorous pull. Hence it will never become displaced when the holder is used for its intended purpose.

The dental floss holder of this invention thus has marked advantages, can be manufactured cheaply and quickly, and is well adapted for successful practical use.

Figure 5 shows the recess 4 with edges which converge inward so that when the ends of the wax string 3 are inserted they are held tightly, and in Figure 4 the sides of the recess are parallel.

Having described my invention, what I believe to be new is:

The method of securing a piece of dental floss coated with wax in a holder having laterally bent end portions with notches in the extremities of said portions, which consists in disposing the piece between said portions and laying the extremities in said notches, and then subjecting the extremities of said floss on the outer sides of said portions to the action of heat, thus melting the wax and forming lumps at the extremities of the floss in close engagement with the outer sides of said portions and causing the floss to adhere in said notches and be kept taut between said portions by said lurnps.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Henne Nov. 21, 1939 

